Welcome to yet another episode of Cute Girls doing Cute Things, I mean Sakura Quest. What I’m really liking about the show here…is the failure. What? Yeah, the failure. Specifically Yoshino’s multiple failures. Her being elected queen of Chupakabura has done little to stir any revitalization to Manoyama and let’s be real, her interview with the local TV station was a disaster. It’s one thing to resign yourself to a job, it’s another thing to be completely clueless about it. What does she like about Manoyama, what is her favorite product? These things are simple enough questions, but if you sit down and think about it, Yoshino was too busy trying to escape than to actually attempt doing her job right.

Is it any surprise you have no love from your subjects?

It makes sense though, right? Why support someone so ignorant and only there by coercion? It makes sense why the head of the Merchants association is at odds with the tourism association chief. Yoshino’s reputation in town isn’t exactly pristine to begin with, what with the last two episodes being exclusively about her trying to get out of the situation. I was actually waiting to see how the townspeople actually thought about her, and not our rpg party either. Hell, even that cop in town knows her as the girl whose constantly trying to leave Manoyama.

Luckily, Yoshino showed some conviction this time around in an attempt to learn a bit more about the town she is to be the mascot of, though much of the town is less than thrilled to help. Still, that did little to deter her. What people loved about Manoyama, what made the town great for those who lived there, that’s what she sought to discover.

That’s how Yoshino found out about Kabura-kun, a mascot as unpopular as Chupakabura. You see, Kabura-kun predated the latter and was inspired by Manoyama’s famous product; the kabura. Kabura-kun was cast aside due to that lack-luster popularity and the rising fascination with UMA in the 90s that the tourism head thought they could coast on. And that’s what brings us to where we are today; a town plagued with mascots it neither wants or cares for.

I could go into specifics regarding the mascot contest, but I honestly don’t really want to. How many blogs that you guys read go into dedicated synopses as opposed to talking about what the blogger feels. So this is me, talking about my feelings. Just like Yoshino spoke up at the contest. Trying to save Manoyama’s declining tourism is an admirable goal, but the way things are going, it makes sense why it hasn’t worked so far. How do you save someone or something that doesn’t want to be saved? Yoshino has a year to figure it out, and quite frankly I can’t wait to see how her journey progresses.

Note: It’s Golden Week here in Japan, so here’s hoping I can catch up with the rest of Sakura Quest!